Bikers and pedestrians beware.
With new lots, buildings and students, accidents at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been occurring at an increasing rate just one week into school.
Since students started moving in on campus, there have been three incidents of vehicle-bicycle collisions on UNL's City Campus, two occurring outside the same parking lot, said Carl Oestmann, director of patrol operations for University Police.
The first occurred just before the start of the academic year at 14th and Vine streets, where a student bicyclist was hit by a motor vehicle as he crossed the road, Oestmann said. The student was given medical attention and cited by the Lincoln Police Department for failure to use a crosswalk.
The next two incidents both occurred within a few days of the first week of classes and just outside the same parking lot.
On Aug. 24, a student riding eastbound south of the Robert E. Knoll Residential Center parking lot believed that a car slowly exiting the lot would come to a stop, Oestmann said. It did not, causing a collision that left the bicyclist with swelling on his leg. The victim said he would seek medical attention at a later point. The driver, also a student, said he had not seen the bicycle. The cyclist was cited for failure to come to a complete stop before a crosswalk, and the driver for violating a stop sign.
The third incident occurred just three days later on Aug. 27, between 3 and 4 p.m. A Lincoln resident, biking eastbound on R Street from 17th Street, saw a car exit the Knoll parking lot onto R Street. The car seemed to be in a hurry, the victim told UNLPD, forcing him to slam on his brakes to keep from colliding with it, Oestmann said. The momentum from stopping threw him forward over the bicycle onto pavement, causing abrasion to his right knee and a sprained wrist. There were two witnesses to the accident, although the driver was never identified. The victim said he planned to seek medical attention for his injuries, Oestmann said.
"I think part of it is you have the school year starting," Oestmann said. "Things are new, the setting is new, there's a lot on students' minds with classes starting, etc."
Oestmann found the frequency of incidents alarming, and stressed the importance of both drivers and bikers staying aware of one another, especially around new parking lots and their surroundings.
Oestmann said he hoped any biking student would at least do everything possible to prevent injury in case of an accident.
Casey Heier, a junior engineering major, said he never wears a helmet while biking on campus.
"They don't look good, and I just don't think that biking around on campus presents too many chances for traumatic injury," he said.
Having heard about incidents like the three accidents so far, however, he said he may "reconsider (bike safety) in the future."
Still, the greatest way for cyclists and drivers to avoid injury is to simply keep their eyes on the road and their minds focused.
"Students just have to ignore everything on your mind and stay cognizant at all times," Oestmann said.
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